No kitchen to cook in, help!

Rosa_Damascena

GreenFairy said:

Not sure I'll get away with no cooking - if it was just me, it'd be grand, but toddler will need some simple cooked stuff at least. 

That makes things more complicated, I can now absolutely see why you need to cook. I hope your kitchen is completed with the minimum disruption and the little one doesn't lose their taste for veggies in the interim.

ziggy2004

If you have a toaster using toaster bags can be really useful. Toasties and soap were a go to meal here when we had work done to the kitchen Between using different breads ( pita, wraps, bread, rolls) and different fillings ( pizza, chicken, brie etc) there was enough variation to keep even our fussy eater happy. 

PipneyJane

We lived without a kitchen for the best part of 2 months.  I used my microwave-convection oven, the kettle and the slow cooker.  The oven has a grill setting, a "combi" setting, works as an electric, fan oven and as a microwave.  (It was my sole oven for 7 years.  Largest thing ever cooked in it was a duck.)     Everything lived on/under my kitchen table the lounge, which was also my main prep space.  (The table is 110cm in diameter.)  The fridge/freezer was crammed against a nearby wall.

What did we live on?  A lot of pasta bakes.  Slow cooked stews served over couscous.  "Baked" potatoes (usually zapped in the microwave for 10 minutes instead of baking).   Rice microwaved in the "microwave rice cooker".  (Yes, they exist.)   Roast dinners.  Oven roasted veggies served with grilled salmon.  (It takes timing: toss courgette, sliced onion, mushrooms and pepper in oil and roast at 200C for 30-40 minutes.  Remove and cover dish with foil.  Insert grill fittings into oven then grill the fish for 5-10 minutes depending on thickness, turning once.)

Instead of rice you can use couscous or bulgar wheat.  Both can be cooked by the same method. Using a measuring cup put your bulgar wheat or couscous into a lidded container and cover with twice the volume of boiling water.  Put the lid on and leave for 5 minutes for couscous or 15-20 minutes for bulgar wheat.  Serve. (Bulgar wheat is a great alternative to rice, being higher in fibre but easier to cook.  I'd use 1/4 cup per person.)

 If I had to do it again, I'd invest in an electric frying pan, since most of my meal recipes start "Fry onion with garlic.  Add...".  You can "fry" in a microwave, but it's a little tricky and you need suitable cookware or you'll have to wash up a dozen times.  (To microwave "fry":  toss your onion/other veg in oil in the microwaveable dish, cover with cling film/a lid and zap for 20 seconds.  Remove from oven and give it a stir. Recover and zap again for 20 seconds. Repeat until you get to the correct stage of done-ness.)

HTH.

- Pip

fudgecat

Beg, borrow or buy one of those induction hob plug ins https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tillreda-portable-induction-hob-white-40331630/  and we have found that we use our halogen oven (like this, but we found ours on Ebay for £20.00 https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/hov17/electriq-hov17-cooking?refsource=apadwords&mkwid=sZYdjK9tS_dc&pcrid=293374131108&product=HOV17&pgrid=57008071337&ptaid=pla-496365614569&channel=search&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvvCM2N6Z6AIVV-DtCh3BAAqiEAQYBCABEgLNS_D_BwE) all the time.

ToastLady

Second the portable induction hob, it's brill. I got one to use as a backup when bottled gas runs out, and I can't change the bottles. Find am using it way more than the gas hob. Am tempted to go for a full induction hob when I have a partial kitchen refit, but in two minds, as we do suffer power cuts, so gas is very handy. 

Rosa_Damascena

ToastLady said:

Second the portable induction hob, it's brill. I got one to use as a backup when bottled gas runs out, and I can't change the bottles. Find am using it way more than the gas hob. Am tempted to go for a full induction hob when I have a partial kitchen refit, but in two minds, as we do suffer power cuts, so gas is very handy. 

Is it economical to run vs gas?

ToastLady

Rosa_Damascena said:

Is it economical to run vs gas?

It's much more energy efficient than the gas hob. I couldn't say if it's more economical to run for you, as it would depend on price of gas vs electricity. I don't live in UK so no idea of prices for electricity and gas there. I used to heat a bowl of soup in the microwave, now use the induction hob because it's quicker. It did help that I already had a set of stainless steel pans that were suitable, so no further outlay for me. Perhaps users of induction hob in Uk could give you a better idea.